There was once a city in the land of the Franks, called the City
of Lebtait.[FN#123] It was a royal city and in it stood a tower
which was always shut. Whenever a King died and another King of
the Franks took the Kingship after him, he set a new and strong
lock on the tower, till there were four-and-twenty locks upon
the gate. After this time, there came to the throne a man who was
not of the old royal house, and he had a mind to open the locks,
that he might see what was within the tower. The grandees of his
kingdom forbade him from this and were instant with him to
desist, offering him all that their hands possessed of riches and
things of price, if he would but forego his desire; but he would
not be baulked and said, 'Needs must I open this tower.' So he
did off the locks and entering, found within figures of Arabs on
their horses and camels, covered with turbans with hanging ends,
girt with swords and bearing long lances in their hands. He found
there also a scroll, with these words written therein: 'Whenas
this door is opened, a people of the Arabs, after the likeness of
the figures here depictured, will conquer this country; wherefore
beware, beware of opening it.' Now this city was in Spain, and
that very year Tarik ibn Ziyad conquered it, in the Khalifate of
Welid ben Abdulmelik[FN#124] of the sons of Umeyyeh, slaying this
King after the sorriest fashion and sacking the city and making
prisoners of the women and boys therein. Moreover, he found there
immense treasures; amongst the rest more than a hundred and
seventy crowns of pearls and rubies and other gems, and a saloon,
in which horsemen might tilt with spears, full of vessels of gold
and silver, such as no description can comprise. Moreover, he
found there also the table of food of the prophet of God, Solomon
son of David (on whom be peace), which is extant even now in a
city of the Greeks; it is told that it was of green emerald, with
vessels of gold and platters of chrysolite; likewise, the Psalms
written in the [ancient] Greek character, on leaves of gold set
with jewels, together with a book setting forth the properties of
stones and herbs and minerals, as well as the use of charms and
talismans and the canons of the art of alchemy, and another
that treated of the art of cutting and setting rubies and
other [precious] stones and of the preparation of poisons
and antidotes. There found he also a representation of the
configuration of the earth and the seas and the different towns
and countries and villages of the world and a great hall full of
hermetic powder, one drachm of which would turn a thousand
drachms of silver into fine gold; likewise a marvellous great
round mirror of mixed metals, made for Solomon son of David (on
whom be peace), wherein whoso looked might see the very image and
presentment of the seven divisions of the world, and a chamber
full of carbuncles, such as no words can suffice to set forth,
many camel-loads. So he despatched all these things to Welid ben
Abdulmelik, and the Arabs spread all over the cities of Spain,
which is one of the finest of lands. This is the end of the story
of the City of Lebtait.